Tom Turner, an award-winning advertising copywriter and motoring journalist, has released Bali Highs, a deeply evocative memoir that navigates the intertwined themes of love, loss, and survival set against the shifting political and cultural landscape of Indonesia. Now available on Amazon, the book offers readers an unflinching exploration of a journey where the boundaries between reality and illusion blur.
Bali Highs is far from the typical tale of tropical romance. Instead, it stands as a raw, deeply personal story rooted in real-life experience. In the early 2000s, Turner embarked on what was meant to be a simple family holiday to Bali — a brief escape from work and routine. Yet, the trip soon took a dark and unexpected turn as he found himself drawn into the human tragedy surrounding Indonesia’s transmigration programme. While visitors basked on Bali’s idyllic beaches, turmoil unfolded on nearby islands, where Christian communities were displaced and attacked amid violent sectarian conflict. This volatile backdrop forms the powerful emotional and moral foundation of the memoir.
At its core, Bali Highs centres on a chance meeting between Turner and a 19-year-old Javanese woman. What began as a fleeting connection on a surfers’ beach evolved into months of intrigue, emotional entanglement, and ultimately, a haunting phone call from Europe that reopened old wounds and raised difficult ethical questions. Turner’s prose is both unsparing and compassionate, capturing the complexities of human vulnerability without offering easy resolutions.
Through vivid storytelling and unflinching honesty, Turner explores themes of escapism, guilt, and moral ambiguity — exposing the dual nature of travel as both liberation and complicity. His award-winning background in advertising and journalism is evident in his sharp, visual style, which immerses readers in the sounds, smells, and contradictions of Southeast Asia in all its intensity.
A seasoned writer, Turner has won multiple D&AD Gold and Silver awards and built a devoted following through his motoring website, which attracted more than 1.6 million subscribers. With Bali Highs, he turns that same incisive gaze inward, confronting the illusions and truths of his own past.
Targeted at readers aged 30–60 who appreciate travel writing with emotional depth and moral complexity, Bali Highs will appeal to fans of Alex Garland’s The Beach and John Burdett’s Bangkok thrillers. This is a memoir for readers unafraid to confront difficult questions — and the ghosts of their own journeys.
For more information, visit: www.thethomasturner.com
